Its primary goal will be to evaluate online titles that might "arouse social concerns and those that have already stirred controversies," and the panel appears to be taking its mission rather seriously.

Out of the first 20 games the committee assessed, nine were denied approval outright, while the remaining 11 were sent back to their respective creators for amendment.

The decision resulted in the Chinese video game market witnessing its slowest first-half growth in a decade, and has even affected big-names like Tencent, which failed to gain approval to monetize last-man-standing shooter PlayerUnknown's Battleground on home soil.

It's unclear how long the licensing freeze will last, although back in September the South China Morning Post suggested it could last for another four to six months -- meaning game companies might still be feeling the impact well into 2019.